The Toronto Fringe Theatre Festival

Date(s): July 5 to 16, 2023
Location: 13 indoor theatre venues in downtown Toronto

If the question is to go or not to go, the Toronto Fringe Theatre Festival definitely demands attendance. Since 1989, this grassroots, unjuried festival has comprised over a hundred productions by established and emerging cast, crew and companies. The Festival takes over dozens of downtown Toronto theatres for 12 days of comedy, dramas, musicals, improv and even childrens’ productions.

Which plays make it into the Fringe Theatre Festival is decided by a lottery system to ensure a diverse range of voices and experiences are included. The festival remains accessible with a community-based support system to help each show shine by opening night. That means a small army of volunteers, in addition to the seasonal festival staff, is behind the scenes helping each play come to life.

Some Fringe Festival productions go on to have interesting after-lives well after the curtain falls like the television shows My Own Private Oshawa and Kim’s Convenience, both of which got their start on stage.